Korean J Urol.  1997 Jun;38(6):615-620.

The Prognostic Significance of Blood and Lymphatic Vessels Invasion of Upper Urinary Tract Transitional Cell Carcinoma

• Shin TK
• Park HY
• Woo YN

Abstract

The prognostic significance of vascular (blood and lymphatic vessels) invasion was evaluated in a retrospective review of 27 patients with upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma from January 1985 to December 1993, who underwent a nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff resection. Vascular invasion was found in 10 patients (37%). The incidence of vascular invasion was well correlated with tumor grade and stage. The incidence of postoperative metastases was significantly higher in the patients with (70%) than without (17.6%) vascular invasion (p<0.05). The survival rate of the patients with vascular invasion was significantly lower than in those without vascular invasion (p<0.01). In multivariate Cox`s regressional analysis the prognostic value of vascular invasion was independent of tumor grade and stage. These results indicate that vascular invasion should predict a more unfavorable outcome in patients with upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma as an independent morphological indicator.

Keyword

transitional cell carcinoma; upper urinary tract; vascular invasion; prognosis

MeSH Terms

Carcinoma, Transitional Cell*
Humans
Incidence
Lymphatic Vessels*
Neoplasm Metastasis
Prognosis
Retrospective Studies
Survival Rate
Urinary Bladder
Urinary Tract*